26 - The Gods' Month

[godsoffortune]

Who: Everyone!
What: Helping the Heavens prepare for the yearly Meeting of the Gods
When: October 20 - 21
Where: Around the Heavens (and maybe some mortal shopping trips, too!)
Summary: Amaterasu has been told that the newly arrived residents of the Heavens want to take a bigger part in security and administration, so she's convinced her shinki to let them help with preparations for the big yearly gala. It's also time for shinki to rate their gods and gods to find out what their shinki really think of them....







Security Precautions

The white-robed shinki guards are working hard to secure the Meeting Hall for the arrival of all the gods of Japan. Hard-working shinki are scurrying everywhere! Despite Amaterasu's orders, they're still a little unsure of and standoffish towards the strangers who they're supposed to work with, but there's a lot of work to do, so they're happy to hand out jobs to small groups of newcomers before returning to their own duties.


• Help clear out any small spirits who might have sneaked back into the Meeting Hall after the spring cleaning, from sootsprites to nekomata, animal spirits from the park or well-camouflaged plant spirits.


• Check the magical writing worked into art or inlaid in wood all over the building to protect the Meeting Hall from attack, and make sure none of it is scuffed or damaged.


• Join in on the patrols around the building or spend some time guarding one of the gates. It's boring, but the shinki appreciate the help.


• Test the integrity and extent of the magical protections with glass balls that turn purple outside the protections on the Meeting Hall and clear inside them. But don't drop your glass ball! They're fragile.

Event Preparation

It's not just security that the shinki are asking newcomers to help with. They also have plenty of work to do getting ready for the festivities! The Meeting Hall floors need to be swept and scrubbed, the gardens need to be trimmed and tidied, artwork needs to be dusted, flower arrangements arranged, damaged furniture repaired and rafters cleared of cobwebs. Anyone with particularly good handwriting can help write out invitations and name cards, too.

Besides cleaning and calligraphy, there's lots of food and beverages to purchase! Grab a shopping list, a wad of cash, and head to the Near Shore to pick up the necessities. (Don't forget to keep the receipts.)

Rate Your God

Shinki have the opportunity to submit surveys on their life with their new gods before the big event, and even request a transfer if they want one. Early in the morning, every new shinki will be visited by a small white dove carrying a scroll that, when unrolled, reveals the following questionnaire:


What is your name?

What is your god's name?

How do you see your duties as a shinki?

What is your favorite part of life with your god?

What is your least favorite part of life with your god?

What advice would you like to give your god?

Do you wish to be assigned to a different god? []Y []N


Fill it out, discuss it with your fellow shinki, forget about it until you find it under a pile of junk mail in two months: the choice is yours! Gods will receive a copy of the answer that their shinki submit to "What advice would you like to give your god?" -- there's no name attached, but they might be able to guess.

Heavenly Record Keeping

Gods don't get to skip the paperwork entirely! Although the Heavens aren't asking them to rate their shinki, new gods don't have all of their vital statistics on file quite yet, so they get a questionnaire too. The same white doves will drop their scrolls by in the morning, with the following set of questions:


What is your name?

How many shinki do you currently have?

What are your areas of divine responsibility?

How do you see your duties as a god?

What traits do you most want in a shinki?

Do you wish new shinki to be assigned to you? []Y []N


Unlike the doves attending on the shinki, the doves who drop off the gods' scrolls will remain close by and chirp loudly until they finish and submit their questionnaires. If a god is particularly lazy about it, they might even start pecking.

In Summary:

• Help protect the Meeting Hall
• Lend a hand cleaning and shopping
• Rate your gods
• Help Heaven keep its records up to date
• Have fun~

Comments

i couldn't find hibiki doing this song on yt so here's one of her gfs instead

[priforprince]

I'll write you a reference for a boutique.

[ The game automatically generates a couple of "friends" for Ginia: a girl with long purple pigtails and a girl with red hair and straight-cut bangs. Hibiki notes this with barely a blink. Two-thirds of SoLaMi SMILE? Well, she supposes that's fitting, given the...

"Team - decided! Everyone, follow me!"

The team onscreen celebrates. The loading screen appears.

Hibiki swallows. It is time for Ginia to begin to play the rhythm game, to the beats of her chosen song. ]

[unlucky7]

[There is so much going on the screen???? Thankfully the song is slow and while the first few notes are a bit sloppy, she figures out the rhythm and other commands quickly enough, tapping the buttons along to the beat. While Hibiki might have to suffer the indignities of dancing to Miracle Paradise, at least Ginia is having fun.

Who would have thought a lifetime of training reflexes and spatial awareness would also work well for arcade rhythm games?]

[priforprince]

[ ...Ginia's....not untalented. That much, Hibiki is able to absorb. Absently. As the fullness of this spectacle seeps into her brain, stays there, and replays even as Ginia is still in the process of running through it.

She's dancing to Miracle Paradise. She....

Game Hibiki seems unaware of the effect she's having on real Hibiki and is not only giving this her all, but also announcing the different stages of the game with great aplomb. "Team runway - here we go! Brilliant radiance, thy name is Hibiki!"

Not even this can save real Hibiki from such a sight. She has gone very, very still. ]

[unlucky7]

[It's a very bright and colorful game with a lot going on. Ginia laughs a little as the outfits transform into truly prismatic wonders.

When she finishes the song and the final results come up, she turns over to look at Hibiki.

...Hibiki?

...Hibiki?

She waves her hand in front of the god's face. Hello? Still there?]

[priforprince]

[ What are you talking about? Hibiki's fine! Here, listen to her - "The ultimate radiance! The concert was a huge success!"

Oh, wait, that was game Hibiki. Real Hibiki takes a moment, then pops back to life with a gasp, but the moment her eyes focus, she grins as if she'd never been away. ]

Has PriPara's appeal captivated you now?

[ Let's focus on the important things here! ]

[unlucky7]

[It certainly has. Ginia fishes her phone out of her coat and quickly types and plays a message.]

That was a lot of fun, thank you. What are you going to do with the machine?

[Because let's be honest; this is a weird place to set it up.]

[priforprince]

This one is a gift for a very special Princess.

[ Considering where she's waiting, it's....the ruler of the Heavens. She's giving the ruler of the Heavens an arcade machine. Because she can. ]

There are more on the Near Shore, and in my temple. You may visit when its pull proves irresistible.

[unlucky7]

[It's certainly a thing calling Amaterasu a princess. Oh, and trying to give her an arcade machine. Hibiki, you sure are a strange one.]

The big purple castle is yours, right?

[It's impressively big and ostentatious, looming in the visible distance.]

[priforprince]

Indeed. "Apollo's CelePara".

[ Not that she thinks CelePara is the only kind of Entertainment that should exist anymore, but, well. She cannot deny a personal inclination towards it being the only kind she's interested in supplying. And a secret belief which she's very open about that it's all people need. ]

Of course, my live concerts occur there, as well.

[unlucky7]

Any concerts coming up?

[Ginia hasn't forgotten about her promise to attend a concert after all. And if the PriPara machine is any indication of what happens at a concert? Then it's definitely something she wants to see.]

[priforprince]

I'm polishing the ore of an idea now.

[ Hibiki and long-term plans that don't change at the drop of a hat are not exactly....acquainted. ]

Expect to see its brilliance unveiled shortly.

[unlucky7]

I look forward to it.

[Ginia glances back at the machine and offers a sheepish smile.]

Can I play one more song?

[This time she won't even pick you and make you go through such indignities again.]

[priforprince]

[ A brief stab of panic. But this is an encouraging development! Hibiki blinks that panic away rapidly, then smiles. PriPara's appeal spreads.

Just as planned. ]

As you wish.

[ The stage is yours, mademoiselle. ]

[unlucky7]

[With an understanding of what to do this time, Ginia moves through the menus quicker. She goes through the character select screen, ultimately selecting a generic idol as her player character and choosing a song too.]

Do you have any other tickets for clothes?

[priforprince]

Of course.

[ Hibiki produces an assortment of tickets, each from different brands. She flicks through them, ordering them however she pleases. ] The perfect coord for that song is - this.

[ Yes, she supposes she'll hand you the rest of her ticket stack - but her choice is on the top. ]

[unlucky7]

[Ginia sets the suggested outfit aside for safe keeping and looks through some of the other outfits for her own amusement. There are certainly a wide variety of styles and designs. But ultimately, Hibiki's suggestion is the right one and Ginia scans it in.

With a better understanding of what to do this time, Ginia fares much better on the rhythm portion, only missing a handful of notes. When the score menu shows up at the end, she snaps a quick picture with her phone for her own memories.]

Thank you, Hibiki, this is a lot of fun.

when you become a divine idol your job really is "travel around hyping pripara". the protag sucks.

[priforprince]

I hope to install them in more Near Shore arcades soon.

[ Except she keeps deciding to install them in her temple so she can play them instead. WHOOPS. ] Naturally, the real PriPara is far more wonderful.

[ And she'll have converts to bring flocking to the gates when those gates, at long last, open here someday....! One might as well crown Hibiki a Divine Idol at the same time she becomes a God of Fortune. She's spreading the news of the splendor of PriPara already. ]

[unlucky7]

What is PriPara anyway? I've heard it mentioned a few times now.

[From Hibiki and the machine itself really. With the emphasis Hibiki's put on the place, Ginia's interest is definitely... priqued.]

[priforprince]

The Paradise this system reprisents.

[ Hibiki rests a hand on the machine, very proud of herself. ] No one shall ever love it as much as myself, of course, but its radiance is sure to banish the negativity permeating this puniverse.

[ And....as all PriParas are connected....

But no. She mustn't give herself over to thoughts of those who are waiting for her, not just yet. She'll see them again. It's inevitable! Foreordained the moment she set this plan into motion!

So there's...no reason to...miss them. Not at all... ]

[unlucky7]

[So PriPara is where Hibiki is from. Or something like that. Sometimes it's really hard to tell with Hibiki. At the very least, it's a place of significance. Ginia glances at the machine, cycling back into its attract mode.

It's certainly a colorful world.]

I should get back to work. Thanks again.

[priforprince]

[ Ah yes, a dutiful member of the Heavens. Hibiki is, in her own style, fulfilling a duty, as well.

She nods. ] Don't resist when your heart next leads you my way.